German Law to Blame For 18+ Rated Wii U Content Block In Europe

Nintendo Europe has explained that it’s a German law that’s to blame for the blocking of adult content on the Wii U eShop before 11pm. Because Nintendo Europe is based in Germany, the Nintendo eShop is complying with German youth protection regulation. Under German law, content rated 18+ must be made available only at night.

“At Nintendo we always aim to provide a safe gaming experience for fans of all ages and ensure that we comply with applicable legal age restriction requirements across Europe.”

“Legal age restriction requirements vary across a number of European countries. Since Nintendo of Europe is based in Germany, Nintendo eShop is complying with German youth protection regulation which therefore applies to all our European markets. Under German law, content rated 18+ must be made available only at night.”

and who says they aren’t working on somtehing just like that? bureaucratic are slow so it may take some time until a feature is implemented that allows parental control, or age verification on the eshop

You’re not even 18, so why does it concern you so much?
You shouldn’t be giving a shit about this.
And it is not stupid. Is it that hard to turn on the WiiU before going to sleep and download the games? No. It’s not like many people aged <18 go to sleep earlier than 11pm.

That’s ridiculous (Meaning the german law, not Nintendo complying with it, although it begs the question of why they’ve never had to do this before) surely you should be able to verify your age somehow. E.g. with Sky TV in the uk you have a PIN for parental controls, and different ratings can only be watched after a certain time-unless you have the PIN to unlock it. It’s a bit pointless to force people to stay up until 11pm to view content. And why couldn’t they enforce these restrictions separately so they only apply in Germany. Obviously all the consoles in Europe are the same, but it wouldn’t be impossible to implement

you don’t have to import them.. you can get any unrated game as long as it hasn’t been confiscated.. and few games ever have been
thing is that stores are not allowed to put up advertising for unrated games or put them in the shelves along with all the other games, which is why many people don’t know about it

yea you can buy uncut games in germany because those stores are doing the importing for you. those uncut games aren’t the german version, but the austrian one (or rather: not the USK Version made for Germany, but the PEGI Version made for other german speaking countries)

I support this. I mean, if your 17 and below, you really shouldn’t play 18+ games. Except, now today, 7-11 year olds that think they know-it-all, play these games. Also, 18+, usually stay up past 11pm.

Just because one country influenced negatively,doesn’t mean Europeans are stupid,you piece of troll.Their tyranny doesn’t make Europeans be stupid either.Nintendo of Europe are stupid because they implemented this.

Just about any programmable computing device can get affected by malware, consoles are protected a lot heavier than Windows PC’s generally but it is still possible. In order for malware to affect the Wii U it has to be written. As of now no unsigned code has been able to run in Wii U mode. Malware writers don’t have interest or enough documentation to go through the trouble so i am sure we will be fine. I have yet to hear of any Wii malware so doubt we will be seeing Wii U ones.

Generally I have no problem with this. Although it could lead to unnescessary waiting time, when a you really want a game but can not download it until late at night. ;)
My real problem with this is, that it just isn’t true. 18+ content is not restricted on PSN for example. You have a age verification with your user account, and that’s it. The seem to use the TV regulations for the eshop, but I doubt that this is really the reason. I mean.. this is Nintendo we#re talking about. ;-)

But it is content made available in Germany to german people with german restrictions. Otherwise I could purchase uncut games on PSN via my german account. I can NOT: So same rules apply here… I really believe it is just an excuse.. That’s symply NOE.

Although I completely respect nintendo’s stance on this it’s hugely draconian. The wii u itself has a number of safeguards for age protection (as well as you know actual parenting skills?? ) . If Nintendo truly wants to compete with the big boys this console generation they really need to look at their online infrastructure and start to compete more aggressively with Xbox live and the PSN. Not one significant update to the estore since both respective launch dates. Time to open your eyes Nintendo.

Glad they explained why. There were some people bashing Nintendo after this news first broke. However, I’m sure those regular Nintendo bashes will find another reason. Real gamer supports ALL consoles. If they succeed, we ALL benefit.

To be honest the name Gamer means you enjoy GAMING no matter what platform, whether it be on your mobile, handheld, tablet, console, PC or (and dare I say it) a Mac you are still classified as a Gamer.

I love games and I have to say even though I’m not a huge fan of Microsoft or the Xbox 360, the games are fun to play. Gaming is a hobby, a right and most all a way to escape from the real world.

It just is a lot harder to implement. For example, the Wii U asks what country you are in. So if you live in Germany, you can put the UK then get around it (or any other country). Same thing with their current age thing. All you have to do is insert a valid year. A 10 year old can do the math and make the year correct, what’s why you have people under age on Facebook. Unless they have some sort of GPS (to know where actually you are) or have some way to scan you; they need to be as restrictive as possible.

Don’t know what everyones problem with this restriction is. If you don’t want to wait until 11pm to download it just buy a hard copy somewhere. You don’t even have to leave the house you can just buy it online.
It’s a restriction so teens under 18 have more of a hard time to get games they aren’t aloud to play. It may be a little annoying but it’s no reason to cry about.

Yeah that’s true. Didn’t quite get it at first while reading the comments because that law applies to me anyway because I live in Germany. But if it was some other country I wouldn’t be that happy too, I agree.
I would also be happier if they have age restriction for downloadable content then there wouldn’t be a problem.

I bet not half of the people who are complaining above aren’t even 18 yet. Digital Distribution is the perfect way for underaged kids to get stuff they’re not supposed to get. This law just makes sure, they don’t. So what’s idiotic about that? In my opinion Germany is just the only country, who was smart enough to pass such a law. As if adults were sleeping by 11pm…

i am all for not having children look at adult content. but i don’t see why the uk and other eu member states should be sujected to German law. why not just make the eshop login through a user account which has the persons age so they can only access age apropiate material. i hate nannying people it is up to the perant to stop aduld material

You know when I first read this news I thought they were saying you could only PLAY 18+games at this time, but if its content for download time thats a whole nother story. Its not that big of a deal if you have to wait to download the game. Now people if you take a look at the online infrastructure the Nintendo Network has not been implemented yet, so quit complaining about the online infrastructure when all they have IS THE ESHOP and Miiverse. I mean the internet and the interface is a hell of a lot better on the Wii U than it is on any other console to date. Now shut up and get a clue about whats relevant and what isnt, not everything is an “issue”

it wouldn’t matter if there was any build in age restriction, that law would still exist
its the same with ea origin, you can verify your age before 11pm with your id wich is way to complicated and anoying for the average consumer to be a worth while solution

They don’t have to because their HQ’s are listed in the UK which has no such regulations and they’re not apart of the European Union. Nintendo of Europe is located in German. THAT’S why they are doing this.

Every Nintendo Gamer should realise that this is for the good of all. Wonder why there is a large number of single moms in the US? Had someone taught and raised the tail end of generation X correctly things like this would be at a minimal. Great law at least germany for the third time, behind Benz and BMW-Porsche is doing something good.

Oh my word. Some full-of-shit comments on here, some peole should be ashamed of themselves.

I long for the day when snot-nosed little bastards can be stopped from playing ANYTHING rated above their age, then perhaps I might be able to enjoy going on-line again. But seriously, if I EVER see another retailer hand over an 18+ rated game to a baseball cap wearing 12 year old, they are being reported.

If I want to download a game of that size, it will be getting done in sleep mode and most likely overnight anyway.

Seriously, overentitled gamers are ruining the industry, not silly things like this.